It has recently become useful to validate customer checks at retail establishments and shopping markets. Small desk top and counter top machines both print receipts for transactions and validate customer checks and other documents of legal tender. In addition to the printing of receipts for transactions, these machines often keep a record, or journal, of such transactions on a separate roll of journal paper, which is unloaded when completely used, but not distributed to the customer(s). One such machine is a Model No. 7221 printer manufactured by Axiohm Corporation, Ithaca, N.Y.
Other commercially available machines of this type usually require cumbersome, manual threading of their receipt supply rolls, and their journal rolls, which record all of the store commercial transactions.
The Axiohm machine, however, comprises a means by which the receipt paper supply roll can merely be dropped into a paper supply bin disposed in the housing without the need for customer manual receipt threading. Moreover, this machine is a one-station device. That is, only one movable print head and one paper path is used to print on a single supply of two-ply paper. One sheet is severed for customer receipts, and the other forms the continuous journal paper roll.
Drop-in loading of a receipt paper supply roll is already known, and has proven most useful to personnel working in the store, especially when the supply of paper runs out during busy store hours. The drop-in feature for receipt paper allows for quick resupply without manual threading, thus preventing all but a minimum delay at the check-out counter.
It makes no sense, however, to streamline the customer receipt paper loading procedure without doing the same for journal paper loading. This is so because any prolonged procedure during customer check-out is anathema to efficient store management.
Journal printing has always been an especially difficult procedure. Most, if not all, receipt printing machines require the user or operator to remove the rewinding core and then thread the end of a new roll of journal paper through an opening therein. The core or spool is then hand-rotated in order to capture the journal paper on the core. The whole procedure is not unlike the hand threading of movie film in obsolete cameras.
Despite the desire to achieve threadless journal paper loading, however, the problem has proven vexatious; an effective result was most difficult to achieve. The present invention, however, solves this problem. In addition to paper supply drop-in capability, this invention has developed a means by which the record keeping journal can be loaded without requiring operating personnel to engage in manual paper threading.
It is an object of the invention to provide an improved journal printing apparatus.
It is another object of this invention to provide a loading method for the journal paper take-up spool without requiring manual paper threading.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a journal printing apparatus having a more automatic journal paper resupply, allowing for drop loading of the supply paper.
The present invention includes a means by which the journal paper is quickly and easily drop-loaded into its supply bin. The leader of the supply roll is captured in feed rolls, as the cover of the machine is closed, and then deposited over the take-up core. This is accomplished without removing the take-up core, and without any concern for its position. In other words, by using this invention, the core is semi-automatically threaded. All the user need do is close the cover over the supply bin and press the paper advance switch after the supply roll is deposited in the bin.
The take-up core of the invention features a novel bifurcated "duckbill" spool, that is split lengthwise approximately in half. The paper is deposited over the first half of the open spool, and then the complementary portion of the spool is caused to close over the paper, thus capturing it. The closing of the bifurcated spool is triggered by movement of a cam that causes the first portion of the spool to descend. The cam is rotated one turn when the paper roll bin is closed.
Similarly, the first portion of the spool is spring-biased when the paper roll bin is opened, thus causing the first portion of the spool to open, relative to the second portion of the spool.
Closing or opening the clamshell initiates movement of a gear drive train that actuates the cam motion. The gear train movement is initiated by a toothed rack mounted in the printer itself. A rack and gear configuration in a clamshell environment, although used for a different purpose (for taking up slack and tightening paper), is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,219,236, issued to Kamimura et al for "Recording Apparatus Capable of Recording Information on Both a Continuous Recording Medium and a Cut-Sheet Recording Medium". No duckbill spool is shown in the Kamimura reference, however. In fact, the spool and drive train in that reference move in a direction opposite to that of the present invention.